Not So legitimate Palestinian Claims

Newt Gingrich, Dec 2011, openly and accurately stated what most European and American political leaders and media organizations have chosen to bury or ignore; that the Palestinian people are “invented” and “are in fact Arabs” and were historically part of the Arab people. His statement is in stark contrast to the heavily regurgitated media mantra supporting Palestinian Arab nationalistic claims to the land of ancient Israel.

Later Gingrich reaffirmed his earlier comments: “Is what I said factually true? Yes," Gingrich said during a debate where he drew applause for asserting that it was time someone spoke honestly about Israel's struggle with the Palestinians. “Gingrich's remarks …struck at the heart of Palestinian sensitivities about the righteousness of their struggle for an independent state and put him at odds … with the international community”.-Haaretz 12/2012

Of course, Gingrich’s statement was hurriedly criticized by Palestinian apologists, antisemites and others who have diligently worked to conceal the truth for so long.

1.Speaking for the Obama administration, H. Clinton stated that Gingrich’s comments on Palestinians were “unhelpful”.

2.Hussain Ibish (American Task Force on Palestine) on CNN declared Gingrich’s comments outrageous, stating“there was no Israel and no such thing as an ‘Israeli people’ before 1948.” Most non-experts can easily decipher the glaring errors in Ibish’s statement.

3.PA prime minister S. Fayyad on CNN stated: “The Palestinian people

inhabited the land {Israel} since the dawn of history”. This was further expounded on by Fatah Council member D. Diliani, also on CNN, that “The Palestinian people {are} descended from the Canaanite tribe of the Jebusites that inhabited the ancient site of Jerusalem as early as 3200 BCE”. Both statements are total fabrications. In “the 1931 census {Palestine}, at least 23 different languages were reported in use by “Moslems”…the non-Jews in Palestine in 1931 listed as their “birthplaces” at least 24 different countries,”-J. Peters, From Time Immemorial .Linking the great variety of Arab nationalities occupying Palestine in the 1930’s to an single extinct common ancestry such as the ancient Jebusites is a ludicrous proposition.

4.Saeb Erekat, PA negotiator, characterized Gingrich’s statements as “despicable,” and opined- that they reflected “the lowest point of thinking anyone can reach”- suggesting that it would increase “the cycle of violence.”

Commonly, truth is the victim when details are required to prove Palestinian Arab nationalistic claims prior to 1920. In contrast Israel and her modern descendants {called- Israelis or Jews} date back consecutively over 3500 years in Israel and throughout the world, and are recognized among the histories of most current and prior nation states. Yet“the non-existent state of Palestine is already recognized by some 125 of the 193 UN member states – while Israel, more than six decades after its acceptance as a UN member state, is still not recognized by 36 UN members, including 30 Muslim majority countries. Moreover, there isplenty of evidenceshowing that the UN supports a veritable “infrastructure of anti-Israel propaganda” and devotes truly disproportionate resources and energies to censuring Israel.”-JPost, 12/2012

So- when was the notion of a Palestinian Arab nation invented? Prior to 1918, Palestinian Arabs were“identified with the Syrian Arab government in Damascus, headed by Prince Faysal. Palestinian enthusiasm for Pan-Syrian unity steadily increased through mid-1920.Three major Palestinian organizations propounded Pan-Syrian ideas in the imme­diate aftermath of World War I: the Arab Club, the Literary Club, and the Muslim-Christian Association. (Note that none of these names makes any mention of Palestine.) The first two groups went furthest, calling outright for unity with Syria under Faysal. Even the Muslim-Christian Associa­tion, an organization of traditional leaders — men who would expect to rule if Palestine became independent — demanded incor­poration in Greater Syria... “The Muslim-Christian Association held a congress in January-February 1919 to draw up demands to submit to the Paris Peace Conference. Representatives of fourteen Palestinian cities and towns presented a peti­tion calling for Southern Syria {Palestine}to be "insep­arable from the independent Arab Syrian government." The congress declared Pal­estine "nothing but part of Arab Syria and it has never been separated from it at any stage." The delegates saw Palestine tied to Syria by "national, religious, linguistic, moral, economic, and geographic bonds." On the basis of this view, they called for a Palestine that would remain "undetached from the independent Arab Syrian Government." A congress of Palestinians met in Damascus in February 1920 and strongly advocated Pan-Syrian unity. One speaker suggested that Palestine stood in the same relationship to Syria as Alsace-Lorraine did to France. According to a contemporary newspaper report…'Izzat Darwaza spoke about Palestine and [the need for] Syrian unity, then he submit­ted a statement for general opinion. No one disagreed with him. The discussion pro­ceeded further on this matter; some partici­pants wanted not to mention Palestine but to use the expression Greater Syria for all the regions of Syria {Greater Syria included Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan}, and they were applauded… The congress passed two resolutionswhich called for Palestine "not to be divided from Syria”…the Palestinian goal was to join in a union with Syria.-D. Pipes 1989, The year the Arabs Discovered Palestine.

The political situation changed when about July 1920 the French and British decided to divide Syria from Palestine. The new situation required new politics. This resulted in the eventual birthing (1920) of Palestinian Arab nationalistic claims to the ancient Land of Israel, as a political counter weight to legitimate Jewish historical claims.

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Gary Fine is a biblical researcher and writer, specializing in topics specific to ancient Israel. He is a retired Air Force captain, a lifelong Minneapolis resident and a graduate of the University of Minnesota. Fine is an individual advocate for a strong America, a secure Israel, and a strong American-Israel partnership.